These wounds won't seem to heal
by armygundamgirl
Summary: Reposted!  A transfer student catches the eyes of Sirius Black.  Can she keep her heart hidden and safe or will he break her barriers?
1. Chapter 1

She sat alone outside, reading a book as she usually did when the weather was warm enough. The other students milled around the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying what was sure to be some of the last decent summer weather. Some were in groups of twos and threes, some a few more than that, and there were several couples wandering around lazily, enjoying the weekend before classes started on Monday. But she sat alone, escaping into her world of words as she so often did these days. She was quiet and shy, and she had heard some of the students wondering if she shouldn't have been sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. As it was, she had been put into Gryffindor, though she didn't feel that she was at all brave.

She looked up from her book briefly when she heard the unmistakable sound of someone falling hard on the ground, and saw that it was the group of boys who had dubbed themselves 'the Marauders', horsing around as they so often did. It was Sirius Black who had fallen, and he was giving an angry glare at James Potter, who was probably the one that caused him to fall. Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin were laughing heartily, and Lily Evans, James's girlfriend, was attempting to scold the boys while trying not to laugh herself. She herself wanted to smile at their antics, laugh quietly at them like other nearby groups of kids were doing, but she found that she was unable to. She knew the boys excelled at pranks, and that all of them were hilarious, and she wanted to laugh, really, it was just that the life and laughter had been drained out of her over the summer. Ever since she had come home to……to……no, won't think about that. Not out here where people can see her. She won't think about it out here, she won't. She can't.

With that mantra firmly repeating in her mind she folded down a corner of the page to mark her spot in the book and headed for her dorm, where she could compose herself without being disturbed.

8

Sirius Black sighed dejectedly as the girl whose attention he had been trying to get got up and walked into the school, her carefully schooled mask firmly in its place. He had been hoping to get her to smile at his antics, thinking that while she was pretty she would be even prettier if she would just smile. But despite what his friends thought, that wasn't the only reason that he wanted her to smile. She just looked so…down all the time, lost even, and he hated to see anyone like that. Maybe it was because he himself had such a bad home life, and hated the way that his family treated people who weren't like them. Or maybe it was just because underneath all the wisecracks, pranks, and general smart ass humor he was an old softy who couldn't stand to see others hurt.

"She didn't notice you again, hey Padfoot?" James asked as he looked at the hurt on his friends face. He meant it to sound teasing, but it didn't really come out that way. Sirius shook his head.

"She noticed all right, she just didn't laugh. Again. Hey Lily, you share a dorm with her, right? Any idea why she's like that?" He asked. Lily shook her head as she leaned against James chest.

"Not really. She doesn't talk all that much and when she does it's all mundane, school stuff. She doesn't talk about girl things like clothes, boys, and make-up; and when I asked about her family she pretended not to hear me and then made an excuse to leave. When I do talk to her, I always get the feeling that she's just one straw away from breaking down." She answered. Sirius sat down in a dejected huff, trying to think of ways to get the girl to smile. He looked up at Remus when he noticed the Werewolf staring at him, and narrowed his eyes.

"_What?_"

"You have it bad."

"Have what bad?" Remus just smiled that knowing, superior smile of his when he knew something that his friend didn't.

"And you don't even know it."

"Know what?" James and Lily caught on right away, and a few moments later Peter caught on as well, but Sirius was still oblivious. "What? C'mon guys, what is it I have? I'm not going to have to go to Madame Pomphrey, am I?" They all burst out laughing at the (for once) completely innocent and clueless expression on Sirius's face. Peter decided to help him out.

"Padfoot loves Sarah, Padfoot loves Sarah…" He chanted in a sing-song voice. Sirius finally understood what they had been teasing him about and tackled Peter.

"I do not!" He exclaimed.

"AHHHHH!!! Remus, James, help!" Peter cried in mock distress. Remus stood up and pulled Sirius off of Peter, who scurried to hide behind him.

"Don't deny it Sirius, we all know that you've had a crush on her since you saw her on the train."

"I _do not_! I just hate to see anyone so down all the time."

"_Of course_ that's the reason Padfoot."

"Oh, sod off."

888

Sarah awoke in the middle of the night panting and sweating profusely. She had seen it again. She had seen it so often now that it was hard to remember a time without it. Whenever she tried it came back to her full force.

Once she got her bearings and remembered where she was she wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head between them, taking long, slow breaths. She listened to the even breathing of her roommates, and once she had stopped shaking pulled on her robe and headed down to the common room with her book and settled into her favorite chair by the fire. She knew that there was no way she'd be getting back to sleep anytime soon, and she hoped that after reading for an hour or two she'd be able to sleep until breakfast. It was only one in the morning after all.

Despite what most people would like to think or believe, Sirius Black was a fairly early riser. He didn't necessarily care much for getting up early to go to _class_, but the earlier he woke up the more time there was to plan pranks. Unfortunately, James, Remus, and Peter didn't see it this way so Sirius was usually stuck waiting for them in the common room alone. At least, he was usually alone.

Imagine his surprise when he entered the common room on Sunday morning to find the American transfer student Sarah Buist curled up asleep in one of the chairs by the fireplace with a book on the floor. He took this rare opportunity to study her without her mask; and instead of seeing the 'sleeping child' that most people would see, he saw a girl who looked tired and worn even when she was supposed to be getting rest. Her light brown hair hung messily across her face, with a small piece of it lying across her full lips, which were parted slightly. Her eyes crinkled in a slight grimace; whatever she was dreaming wasn't happy.

He suddenly had this inexplicable urge to hold her, to take away the pain that was etched into her features. Instead, he simply grasped her shoulder and shook her gently. She shifted away from him in her sleep, and for a moment, she did have that 'sleeping child' look.

"Go 'way Brian, let me sleep." She said, slurring her words slightly. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"My name's Sirius." He said clearly. She finally opened her eyes and looked up at him, trying to blink away the bleariness.

"Huh?" She asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"You said 'Go away Brian'; but I'm Sirius. Who's Brian?"

"What? Oh, he's…he's no one, never mind. What time is it?" She asked, desperately wanting to change the subject. Sirius felt that there was more to this 'Brian', but didn't push it.

"It's still pretty early, everyone else is probably still asleep. What are you doing down here?" He tried to make his question sound as casual as he could. Sarah rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes and picked up her book.

"I fell asleep reading. You?" Sirius shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin, the kind that most of the girls in school would have died to get from him.

"The earlier I'm up the more time I have to plan pranks." He hoped that this comment would get him a half smile, or some sort of movement of the lips at least, but all he got was a brief nod before she headed up to her room to get ready for the day. He sighed, wondering what kind of life this girl must have had for her to become so closed off.

888

Sirius Black had a plan, one which his friends had agreed to help him with. And no, this wasn't about a prank of any kind. For the last few days he and his friends (to include Lily) had been studying Sarah's behavior, trying to determine the best way to pull her out of her shell. They had seen that she was more than willing to participate in conversations, but was extremely timid about entering into one on her own.

So they were going to be their wonderful, genial, annoying selves and bother her until she participated freely and let down some of her walls. Or blew up at them and told them to sod off. Either way, they were going to get some kind of emotional reaction out of her.

They got their chance on Wednesday at lunchtime when they walked into the Great Hall and saw her sitting at the table alone, working on one piece of homework or another. They settled themselves around her, Sirius on her left, Lily and James on her right, and Remus and Peter across from her. She looked up, mildly surprised that anyone, especially these students, had decided to sit with her.

"Working on Arithmancy?" Lily asked as she made herself a sandwich. Sarah nodded as Lily continued to speak. "Can you believe Professor Clark this morning? Giving Grace Pestal 20 points for passing out last weeks quizzes."

"He does seem a little biased because he was in Hufflepuff, like she is." Sarah said.

"Did you notice the fuss that Malfoy made about his grade?" Remus added, as he was also in the class with Lily and Sarah. He then rolled his eyes at the amount of food James, Sirius, and Peter were literally inhaling. Sarah shook her head, still slightly confused but somewhat glad that they were talking to her.

"He needs to learn that money won't buy him everything. That in the end it will only cause more problems." She answered, not looking up from her homework. They looked at her silently, the tone of her voice suggesting that she had had those very problems with money. Sirius put his arm around her shoulder and gave a squeeze, which he quickly dropped when she stiffened up slightly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Money causes plenty of problems." She looked at him with surprise written on her face, and when their eyes met she knew that in him she had found a kindred spirit, for some of her problems at least.

"What classes do you have this year?" Remus asked, changing the subject since he knew that the current topic was a touchy one with Sirius and probably with Sarah to. She simply handed him her timetable instead of answering, but before he could read it the Owls swooped in to deliver the mail. Peter received a letter and small box from his family, probably something that he had forgotten, Remus and Lily a letter from their parents, and James and Sirius a letter each from James mother. They eagerly began to open their letters, and Sarah resigned herself to not getting anything. Her father was all that she had, and he had never been much for writing. She knew that she would be lucky to get something from him once a month.

So it was to her great surprise when one of the Owls landed in front of her, a decent sized package tied to its leg. She gave the owl some of her bread and untied the package from its leg, searching to see who had sent it. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was from, and the others all looked at her curiously.

"Who's it from?" James asked quietly. Sarah shook her head to bring herself out of her surprise and looked at him.

"Just an old classmate of mine." She said simply, though this person was far more than that to her. At least, she used to be.

"That's great! She must really care about you to send you something that big from across the ocean, that's pretty expensive to do." Sirius said, putting as much excitement into his voice as he could in the hopes that it would get her more excited than she currently seemed to be. But all she did was nod, then take her timetable back from Remus and gather her things.

"I've got to go." She said and left the Great Hall quickly, before any of them had a chance to stop her. They looked at her retreating back sadly, then turned to each other.

"That could have gone better." Peter said dryly.

"It could have gone worse." Lily pointed out.

"That letter stirred something in her, probably whatever she's been keeping buried." Remus said.

"And how do you know that? I couldn't tell anything of the sort." Sirius said accusingly. Remus tapped his nose.

"I could smell it cause this week's a full moon so all my senses are heightened." He said simply, but in a voice so quiet that only they could hear.

"So then how do we get her to talk about it? Burying whatever it is can't be very healthy." James said.

"We'll just have to go slow with her, and keep pushing her until she feels comfortable enough to tell us. I bet if the mail hadn't arrived she would have responded more to us; she was just starting to relax when it did." Remus said.

8

Sarah walked quickly out of the Great Hall, her books in her bag and her package held tight against her chest. She didn't really know why she had reacted the way that she had, getting a package from her best friend should have made her happy, but it just brought everything to the surface.

She was walking so quickly and was so lost in thought and trying to keep her emotions under control that she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going and as she rounded the corner she walked straight into a very firm chest and fell backwards to the ground with an 'oomph'. She shook her head and looked up to see the pale blonde hair and immaculate clothes of none other than Lucius Malfoy. She'd heard of his reputation, and what he thought of those he considered beneath him, and bit back her fear of what he was likely to do.

"S…sorry." She stuttered as she gathered her books, which had spilled out of her bag. To her surprise, he knelt down and helped her to gather them, then helped her to stand, handing her package.

"It is I who should apologize, I was not watching where I was going." He said gently, giving her a slight bow once they'd stood up. She blushed, not being used to such treatment, and not expecting it from him.

"It's all right." She said quietly and resumed her path to her next class. He walked with her, easily keeping up.

"I've noticed you in class, you're quite intelligent and could go very far in life. If, you had the right sort of…companion shall we say?" He said, looking at her meaningfully. Sarah wasn't stupid, she knew exactly what he was talking about, but decided not to anger him just yet.

"Thank you for the offer, I'll have to think about it." She said non-committedly.

"Though I should warn you, that getting involved with the wrong sort while you are here could have disastrous effects." Sarah decided to play innocent.

"Oh really? And could you possibly explain to me what the 'wrong sort' would be so that I know what to look out for?" Malfoy sneered.

"The people you were eating lunch with are prime examples. Ill-mannered, blood traitors, and mudblood lovers. They are not the sort of people that someone as pure as you should be seen with." Sarah stopped mid stride, faced him, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Then I don't see any way that I could accept your earlier offer, not to mention it's quite difficult to not hang out with ones self." She said evenly and calmly. He stared at her in shock, and from a little ways down the hall she could hear the raucous laughter and sniggers of the Marauders.

"But then…that means…" Malfoy sputtered. Sarah arched an eyebrow.

"That I'm a…what's the word? Mudblood? Why yes I am, and quite proud of it. And I do apologize for running into you." She said sweetly and then joined the Marauders while Malfoy glared at her back.

"That was absolutely brilliant! Where did you learn to do that?" James exclaimed as she joined them. This time, she couldn't help but let a small, pleased smile grace her features.

"There was a boy very much like him at my old school, I got plenty of practice with him. Plus, my dad once told me that bullies bully to get a rise out of people. The more you deny them that, the less power they have over you." Sirius clapped her on the back.

"As James said, it was absolutely brilliant. And welcome to the 'wrong sort'." He said with a warm smile at her, which Sarah found herself returning for the first time in a long time.

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	2. Chapter 2

It was almost a week before Sarah opened the package from her friend, she'd all but forgotten about it after that incident with Malfoy. It had just sat in her bag, waiting expectantly. She pulled it out now with shaking hands, looking around the Common Room to make sure that she was truly alone. The Marauders had helped her to start laughing again, and little by little she felt herself returning to the person that she used to be, before……well, that thought could come later.

Slowly she unwrapped the plain brown paper, and out fell a Muggle tape recorder and a note. She looked at it quizzically, wondering what the hell Jessica was doing sending her one of these; she knew that Muggle devices didn't work on school grounds. She unfolded the note, reading the neat script that was Jessica's.

Dear Sarah,

Long time no hear, right? You sort of disappeared from everyone's radar after…well, you know what I'm talking about. From the few letters that I did receive from you, it sounded like you haven't properly grieved yet. So, me being my usual brilliant self, have fixed this Muggle recorder thing to work magically, and have placed a song in it that should help you to start healing. Write back to me okay? I miss you terribly, especially at that certain time of month. This last one just wasn't the same without you.

Your friend for life,

Jessica

Sarah pushed the play button, tears welling up in her eyes as the haunting piano began playing the introduction to the song.

_I'm so tired of being here, _

_Suppressed by all my childish fears__And__ if you have to leave__I wish that you would just leave__'Cause your presence still lingers here__And it won't leave me alone_

The words brought back that day so clearly. Her first day back from school. Her brother had been waiting for her, as he had every summer, with a welcome home banner and junk food. She was always so happy to see him. They were siblings after all, and even the fact that she was a witch and he wasn't would never drive them apart. But a knife had. Driven home by that _woman_. Angry, hateful tears welled up in her eyes as she remembered the look of psychotic joy on her step-mothers face._These wounds won't seem to heal__This__ pain is just too real__There's just too much that time cannot erase__When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears_

The tears spilled over as she remembered the way that she had just stood there, unable to move even as her brothers dying body fell forward onto her. She vaguely recalled hearing her fathers strangled cry from behind her, and then seeing him lunge at the woman he was supposed to have loved._You used to captivate me__By your resonating light__Now I'm bound by the life you left behind__Your face it haunts__My once pleasant dreams__Your voice it chased away__All the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal__This__ pain is just too real__There's just too much that time cannot erase_

She hadn't been the same since. She withdrew from everything, all her friends, her joys. She became quiet, introverted. She hadn't even gone flying over the summer, one of the things that she loved to do most of all. Jess was right, she hadn't properly mourned yet. Because she couldn't. Not until she accepted that he was really gone. And she had yet to be able to do that._When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears__When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears__I held your hand through all of these years__But you still have__All of me__I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone__And though your still with me__I've been alone all along_

Her crying must have attracted someone, or she wasn't as alone in the common room as she thought, for she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her, and the warmth and strength of Sirius surrounded her. He didn't ask any questions, he just let her hang onto him as though her life depended on it, which it most likely did. Not so much her life as her soul.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears__When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears__I held your hand through all of these years__But you still have__All of me_

She cried herself to sleep in his arms, and eventually Sirius fell asleep as well. He knew that the wards around the girls dorms would prevent him from carrying her to bed, and there was no way he was going to leave her on the couch alone. He briefly considered bringing her up to his room, for he knew very well that girls could enter it, but somehow he felt that wouldn't be right. So he just held her, shifting their bodies slightly so that they were a little more comfortable. He desperately wanted to know what it was that made her so sad, but knew that it would have to wait. When she was ready, she would tell him.

888

Sarah awoke the next morning having slept better than she had in months. At first she couldn't figure out why, and then her sleep fogged brain finally realized that her pillow was not soft like she was used to, but very firm. She blinked her eyes and looked up into the sleeping face of Sirius, who had his arm wrapped protectively around her. His breathing was deep and even, and she rose slightly with his chest with each breath he took.

She began to get up carefully, not wanting to disturb him, but his arm tightened around her and kept her close as he began to wake up.

"Didn't think you'd get away from me that easily, did you?" He asked groggily, giving her the most dashing smile that he could seeing as he was still half asleep. It made Sarah's heart race and she blushed, looking down. He shifted himself so that they were both sitting up, his arm still around her. "Want to talk about it?" He asked gently. She shook her head.

"Not here." She managed to say softly. He kissed the top of her head.

"Okay. When you're ready." He stood up, pulling her up with him after taking hold of her hand. "It doesn't sound like anyone else is up yet, you should be able to convince them that you just came in a little late, as opposed to spending the night somewhere else. I don't want to tarnish your reputation after all." He said with a smirk that made her blush some more. She covered it up with a smile and punched his arm before heading into her dorm. Sirius continued to smirk at her retreating back. Ever since they had gotten her to open up he had loved to push her buttons whenever he could. She was just so adorable when she was riled up.

888

Sarah sat by herself at the lunch table, seeing as she had gotten out of class early, and tapped her Muggle pen against her chin. The boys and Lily had yet to arrive, and she got to enjoy one of those rare moments when the Great Hall was silent, with only the murmuring of a few students and professors that had gotten there early. This pen that she was using most definitely wasn't the norm for the Wizarding World, but it was Jess that she was writing to, and it was Jess who had given her this pen and several others like it for Christmas last year. Each one held a different colored ink and had glitter in it, hence, the reason that it was special. She had chosen the black sparkly one for this letter, hoping that Jess would get the idea that she was still sad but starting to move on. She began writing.

Dear Jess,

Thanks much for your present and letter; you're right, I hadn't really mourned yet. I think that I've been in shock since it happened, and that song you sent brought me out of it. Don't worry about me to much, I've met some really great people over here that you would absolutely adore (especially one of the boys, but I'll play matchmaker a little later). I'm really sorry that I wasn't there for our monthly gatherings, I found that I missed it these last few months.

James and Lily are so completely in love it's not even funny. Though James keeps doing stupid things and she threatens to break up with him because of them, so he's always apologizing and groveling at her feet. Apparently he's been after her since first year and they only started dating over the summer so he does not want to mess this up. Remus, Sirius, and Peter have been telling me all the things that James has done over the years in trying to capture Lily's heart, and some of them are truly hilarious.

Speaking of hilarious you should see some of the girls when Sirius decides to give them flirtatious looks. I'm surprised that some of them haven't passed out completely from swooning so much, though a few have come pretty close. Remus would have just as many girls if he pulled his nose out of the books once in a while and paid attention to them, but I have so far not had any luck getting him to put that theory into practice (he's the one that I think you would most adore. Wink wink nudge nudge). But I _have_ gotten Peter to start looking at this Hufflepuff fifth year that I had noticed was blushing whenever she saw him and after doing a little digging found that she had a crush on him and began to work my 'magic' with Peter. Very subtle of course since James and Sirius go a bit overboard with teasing him, so I'm trying to keep it as low key as possible for the moment.

Speaking of Sirius, I don't know what to make of him. Not only my own feelings but the way he acts. He is soooo cute and can be really sweet, and he has energy to spare. There are times when I think that he has eyes only for me, but then he goes and starts flirting with his fan club and I just don't know what to do. How come I can get everyone else into a relationship and still fail at my own?

Much confused and missing you like crazy,

Sarah

Sarah folded the parchment and put Jess's name on it just as the boys arrived for lunch.

"What's that?" Sirius asked as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder and causing a slight shiver to run through her at his contact.

"A pen." She said lightly as she stuck both pen and letter in her bag before he could grab them, which he had tried to do every time that he caught her writing. He pouted adorably, but sat down and began loading his plate with food, keeping his arm around her waist. She began making her own sandwich, trying very hard to keep her cool even though every fiber of her skin was screaming 'He's touching me! He's touching me!'. Remus sat down at the table, but before he could fill his plate he looked at the entrance to the Great Hall and his eyes went wide.

"Hey, Remus, what's up?" James asked, then looked to the entrance with the others. His mouth dropped open, along with Sirius's and Lily's. Remus just looked at Sarah, who gave him a bright smile. Peter was walking into the Great Hall holding hands and talking quietly with the above mentioned Hufflepuff girl, a certain Alicia Abbott. Remus smiled while Lily and Sarah elbowed their respective guys before they could start the cat calling. Sarah gave Peter a wink and thumbs up when he looked over, and he looked immensely relieved not to be embarrassed by his friends in public.

"What was that for?" Sirius whined once he'd gotten his breath back.

"You can tease him in the Common Room later, leave him be for now." Sarah said lightly, but gave him the hard look that they had all learned meant 'don't try anything or _else_'. Sirius and James immediately quieted down, but all through lunch they kept sneaking glances at the new couple while Sarah, Lily, and Remus held a lively conversation about their Ancient Runes class.

Unnoticed by them a perfectly manicured figure was watching the group interact, more specifically watching a certain female transfer student. He couldn't get over how she had snubbed him. _HIM!_ She had dared to snub him! She should have been groveling at his feet for even deigning to notice her. _The filthy little mud-blood._ And she had gone even further by taking pride in her heritage! What did she have to be proud of? She was born from _Muggles_, and everyone knew that they were filthy little animals.

If he hadn't been ordered by his father to befriend her, with only the explanation that she could be invaluable to their Lord, then he wouldn't have spoken to her in the first place. But he had his task and he must complete it, loath though he was to do so. Unfortunately she was always surrounded by those blood traitors _Black_ and _Potter_, not to mention that Mudblood _Evans_ and _Lupin_. He didn't see Peter as much of a threat since the little wimp tended to hide behind the taller boys, but he had seen what Evans could do with a wand and despite Lupin's quiet demeanor there was just something…_off_ about him that Lucious's instincts told him to stay away from.

They were all so infuriating, laughing and being happy. How disgusting. But they would see. They would all come to see.

Lucius smirked, and the few students still sitting near him immediately left. They knew that smirk, and any Slytherin worth his weight in salt had learned a long time ago to stay far away from the Malfoy heir when he wore that smirk.

8 8 8

"Hey Sarah, I think this is for you." Remus said as he held out a letter that was addressed to him, but was in her friend Jess's handwriting (not to mention the color of the ink was something that Wizards did not usually use. Dead giveaway as to who wrote it). Sarah glanced at it briefly before shaking her head.

"It has your name on it." She answered, then stabbed Sirius lightly in the hand as he tried to steal her toast. He whined pitifully while Remus just looked at her in confusion.

"But it's from your friend." He said, still unwilling to accept that the letter was for him.

"I suggested that she write to you." Sarah said and moved to the other side of Lily so that she could keep her plate away from Sirius permanently. The Black haired boy pouted, but filled his own plate and tucked in with gusto.

"_Why?_" Remus asked. Sarah shrugged.

"I think that you'll like each other."

"Awww, are you playing matchmaker again?" James asked as he sat down and gave Lily a kiss on the cheek. Sarah looked at him with a completely innocent expression on her face.

"Who me?" She asked, earning laughs from everyone. Remus silently opened the letter as his friends continued to laugh and joke, becoming skeptical when he caught an unmistakable scent from the parchment.

Dear Remus,

Hi, you don't know me personally but I'm sure that you've heard of me from Sarah. She must be somewhat back to normal if she's playing matchmaker, and you must really be something for her to keep dropping hints about you to me. She's incredibly tenacious when it comes to these things, so I figured that I'd get a jump on her and write to you before she cooked up some crazy story to get you to write to me. I've seen her do it. The last couple that she did this to is still together as a matter of fact, so maybe I should have let her make a fool of her self. You all would have gotten a lot of laughs out of her antics.

Anyway, I guess that I should describe myself. I'm 5'4", with dark blonde hair and golden brown eyes which Sarah loves to tease me about. I love to read and prefer to spend cold rainy days curled up with a book in front of the fireplace with a warm cup of hot chocolate. My best friend is Sarah (obviously), she's more like a sister to me than anything else and I can trust her with my darkest secrets. I'm sure that she can tell you more about me, but right now I want to talk about her and this Sirius guy. (Ha! Serious Guy! Not from what I hear! Okay, bad pun.)

Sarah is really starting to have feelings for him, but is unsure if he feels the same. The way that she's described it to me, is that he flirts with so many girls it's hard to know if his actions and attitudes towards her are sincere. As his friend I'm sure that you know if he's serious (Sirius!) about her or if she's just one of many. If it's the latter then find a way to let Sarah know so that there's less of a chance of heartbreak for her, she's had enough of that already. If it's the former, then tell his to get off his ass and let her know that he's serious (I will no longer use the bad puns). Maybe help him a little in that department? Anyway, I have to go, class is about over and I won't have time to continue this in my next class.

Hopefully a new friend,

Jessica Wilton

Remus looked up as he finished the letter, looking at Sarah in a slightly different light. He would have to clarify something before he responded to this letter. She glanced up when she felt his eyes on her, and looked at him curiously.

"You okay Remus? I didn't make a mistake in trying to set the two of you up, did I?" She asked, worry in her voice. Remus shook his head as he folded the parchment back up and placed it in his bag.

"I'm all right. Can I talk to you privately?" He did his best to keep any hostility out of his voice. She regarded him silently.

"Yeah, sure." She said and gathered her books, following him out of the Great Hall and into a nearby empty classroom where he _silenciod_ the door. He turned to face her sharply.

"Did you want to set me up with your friend because we're both _werewolves_?" He hissed out in a whisper despite the _silencio_ charm. Her eyes widened.

"What? Oh God, Remus, no. That is not the reason. I wasn't even positive until now." Remus just looked at her disbelievingly as she ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, look, here's how it happened. I thought that you and Jess would be perfect for each other within _days_ of meeting you. That thought only deepened as I got to know you. It wasn't until _after_ I sent the letter to Jess that I noticed you had some of the same habits around the full moon that she does, but I wasn't going to ask you about it in case you weren't and I offended you. I really don't care that you are, I mean, you hear how I talk about Jess; she's like a sister to me." She looked at him hopefully, and Remus could practically _taste_ the truth in her scent.

"All right, I believe you. I just have to be so guarded; if anyone found out I'd be in big trouble."

"I know, Jess is pretty much the same way most of the time. It took me almost _two years_ to get her to trust me enough for her to tell me. Can I ask how you knew? I doubt that she would have mentioned it in her first letter." Remus touched his finger to his nose.

"A werewolf can tell when there's another werewolf nearby. Her scent was all over the parchment."

"So she'll be able to tell from your scent when you write back to her, right?"

"Who says that I'm going to write back to her?" Remus said with a hint of a smile. Sarah stabbed her finger into his chest.

"You'd better. It took me two letters of hinting and one blunt one to get her to write to you." He held up his hands in defeat.

"Don't worry, I'll write. And yes, she'll catch my scent from my letter." Sarah groaned.

"She's going to think exactly what you thought."

"I'll tell her what you told me."

"Thanks, but I'd better start my own apology anyway." Remus laughed just as the bell rang.

"C'mon, we'd better get going or we'll be late to class."

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	3. Chapter 3

Remus and Sarah did their best not to laugh to loudly at their handiwork. Sirius had fallen asleep while they were studying in the library and Sarah couldn't resist decorating Sirius's face like a clown mask. Remus had helped by coloring his hair in rainbow stripes and spoofing it out like a clowns. They had then attempted to get back to their homework, but found it to difficult and eventually gave up.

"Hey Sirius, c'mon buddy, wake up." Remus said as he gently shook his friends shoulder. Sarah made sure that she was facing away as he woke up.

"Huh? What?" He asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're done and you fell asleep, it's dinner time."

"Yes! Food!" Sirius said and grabbed his bag and Sarah's hand, nearly dragging her out of the library. "Coming Moony?" He called over his shoulder. Remus merely shook his head and smiled as he followed them. A group of First Year Hufflepuffs passed them on their way to the Great Hall and were unable to contain their giggles, which completely confused Sirius and _highly_ amused Sarah and Remus. Sirius looked at them with what would normally have been a suspicious look, but it was negated by the make-up.

"I…uh…forgot my book!" Sarah said and turned around before she betrayed herself.

"_What_ did you _do_? Hey!" Sirius yelled after her as she disappeared into the Library, which broke Remus's resolve and he doubled over laughing. Sarah couldn't help but shake her head and laugh as she searched their study area for the book that she really _had_ left behind when Sirius had pulled her out of the library.

"Looking for this?" A drawling voice said from behind her. She turned around to find Lucius Malfoy leaning against the bookcase, holding the book that she was looking for.

"Yes, may I have it back please?" She asked just a little _to_ politely. Lucius smiled charmingly, and all of Sarah's social instincts went on alert.

"And what do I get should I return it to you?" It was only through a lifetime of practice that Sarah was able to keep from rolling her eyes.

"You get to keep you face looking so pretty." She said sweetly, though with enough malice that he would know her intentions.

"So you think that I'm pretty?" He teased, continuing to keep the book out of reach.

"Just because I don't like your Pureblood elitist attitude doesn't mean that I'm blind." She slipped past him, snatching her book from his hands as she did so. Before she could get to far away he lightly grabbed her hand, keeping her in place. She looked at him warily, especially when he began to caress her skin with his thumb.

"I think you're very pretty." He murmured as he stepped closer to her. He reached up a hand to caress her face, and she stepped back.

"Well, thanks. But I have to go, my friends are waiting for me." He continued to caress her hand.

"Ah yes, your friends, They are…most interesting."

"It's no secret that you don't like them, so don't pretend otherwise. What is it that you want?" Sarah asked, pulling her hand out of his. He once again flashed a charming smile.

"Why you of course. You're smart, beautiful, and could go very far with the right type of help."

"Yes, you made that offer earlier this year, at the same time that you insulted my heritage."

"A slight difference of opinion." He said smoothly. "Since then I have found you to be a fascinating young woman that I would like to get to know _much_ better." He tried to step right up against her, which would have pushed her against the wall, but she easily stepped to the side.

"Unfortunately for you, I go for dark hair and a light personality, as opposed to light hair and a dark personality." She said and walked out of the library. Lucius balled his hands into fists. She was going to pay, that was for certain. She was going to be his and then she was going to pay.

8

Sarah entered the Great Hall to see James, Lily, Peter, and Remus, but no Sirius. She sat down next to Remus, placing her bag on the floor by her feet.

"Where's Sirius?" She asked as she began loading her plate. Everyone shared laughing smiles.

"In the bathroom, trying to remove your handiwork." Peter said.

"That was absolutely brilliant charms work, and you can expect retribution within the next couple of days." James said between laughing.

"Yeah, I figured." Sarah said with a smile.

"How did you come up with it anyway? I don't think that I've ever read about any charms like those." Lily asked.

"Jess and I came up with it in our third year as payback against a bully who stylized himself class clown. Remus did the hair part in this case though."

"You _could_ have left me out of this." Remus muttered.

"If I'm going to face retribution I'm not doing it alone." It was then that Sirius showed up, hair wet and still slightly discolored. "Hey Sirius, where ya been? You were so excited about dinner and now you're late."

"You two are _so_ going to get it." Sirius said as he sat down and gave Remus and Sarah a dirty look.

"So, ah, Sarah, when do we get to meet this friend of yours?" James asked. "We have to make sure that she's good enough for our Moony after all." Remus rolled his eyes.

"She's visiting for Christmas. Her parents are going skiing for the holidays and she convinced them to let her visit me and my dad agreed. She's portkeying into Platform 9¾." Sarah answered and stabbed Sirius's hand with her fork as he tried to nick food from her plate.

"Perfect. You're both invited to my parents Christmas party." James said.

"Awesome. Just tell me when and how to get there."

"Your dad won't have anything planned?" Lily asked.

"He probably will, but I hate the parties that he goes to and since Jess is coming he won't force me to go to any of them."

"What does you dad do for a living Sarah? I don't think that you've ever mentioned it." Peter said. She looked down at her plate.

"He's the American Ambassador." She mumbled. Lily stared at her in amazement.

"Your dad is the American Ambassador? That's amazing." She said.

"Ambassador? That sounds pretty important." Sirius said, having temporarily gotten over his anger.

"It is." Sarah said while looking at her food.

"You're not happy about it?" Remus asked in a slightly confused tone.

"It's good for his career, bad for his home life. Can we talk about something else? Please?"

"Yeah, sure. How come you were so late to dinner? I thought that you just forgot a book." Remus said. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy's planning something. He tried to sweet talk me." Sirius visibly bristled and began to shoot Lucius murderous looks.

"Are you serious? Since when does _Malfoy_ talk to a Muggleborn, let _alone_ try and sweet talk one?" James asked.

"That's why I said he's planning something."

"He'd better not be planning _anything_ if he knows what's good for him." Sirius all but growled. Sarah blushed at his protectiveness while Remus and James began to tease him about it.

"So, Peter, how are you and your girlfriend?" Sirius asked slyly. Peter gave him a murderous look when the two boys shifted their attentions to him.

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"JESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sarah all but screeched happily as she caught sight of her best friend and began waving frantically. Jess waved back just as enthusiastically, and they met in a crashing hug that knocked them both down. They then began to talk excitedly and at the same time, and James, Remus, Lily, Sirius, and Peter gawked at their abnormal friend Sarah sounding so much like…like…like a _girl_.

"Uh, Sarah? Introductions please?" James asked as Sarah and Jess picked themselves up off the ground and began to bounce around each other. The two girls stopped and looked at them, and then began to laugh.

"Sweet Merlin I must have looked like such a girly girl." Sarah said, making everyone laugh, including her and Jess.

"Yeah, a bit. It was weird." Sirius said as he pulled her into a shoulder hug.

"Okay, well, everyone, this is Jess, my dysfunctional best friend. I guarantee you that the only time either of us act the way we just did is when we haven't seen each other for quite some time. She tends to bring out the worst in me." Jess smacked her upside the head and Sarah retaliated by punching her in the arm. "And Jess, this is…"

"Wait, let me guess." Jess interrupted. "The red-head is Lily, hair is a dead giveaway; the guy attached to your arm _has_ to be James; you must be Peter, you're just as adorable as Sarah described in her letters, don't worry, you'll grow out of it; and you, Mister Dashing Smile, just _have_ to be Sirius. You'd better get a move on or I swear to Merlin that I'll kick your ass." Sirius began to blush while everyone else looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, trying desperately to hold back her giggles.

"He knows what I'm talking about, don't worry. And you," Jess said, turning to face Remus for the first time "you must…be…" He voice trailed off as she and Remus stared at each other, and Lily and Sarah shared a knowing look with the boys.

"Must be what Jess?" Sarah teased. Jess didn't answer and then surprised them all (including Remus) by pulling his head down for a passionate kiss, which he returned after the initial shock wore off. Catcalls rang out from around the platform, and it was a full thirty seconds before they broke apart. They were both dazed, and it wasn't until Jess gasped and hid behind Sarah that the moment was broken.

"Oh my God I _did not_ just do that." She whispered in astonished embarrassment.

"I certainly didn't mind." Remus said softly, ignoring the comments from his friends. Sarah took this as her cue and spun so that she was behind Jess and then gave her a little shove toward the taller boy.

"A match made in heaven." Lily said dreamily.

"Nope. A match made by _Sarah_." Sirius said quite proudly, grinning at her and making her blush.

"C'mon, our parents are waiting on the other side. If we take to long we'll all get lectures." Peter said amidst the laughing and teasing. They moved to the line at the barrier, still laughing and joking like they were all old friends. They moved through the barrier one at a time, pushing their trunks ahead of them. Sarah was the last to exit, and the first thing that she saw was Peter greeting his father, then Remus greeting his parents and introducing them to Jess, who had walked through with him so of course they insisted on meeting her. James and Sirius were both being greeted with enthusiastic hugs and back slaps from James's parents, and Lily was greeted warmly by her parents, with a sour-faced looking girl that looked like Lily's father shooting disgusted glances their way. Sarah guessed that this was Lily's sister Petunia. It was after Lily's family that she spotted her own father, and she got ready to receive the traditional welcome home hug, but stopped short, staring at the woman who was holding onto her father's arm like she owned him. Jess, being very in tune with her best friends scent and its changes, noticed immediately that something was wrong with Sarah and turned to look, her face going sour and a wolfish snarl escaping her lips. It was then that Sarah's father noticed her, and he waved and walked over, preparing to give her a hug. She stepped away from him and looked at him darkly.

"What's _she_ doing here?" Sarah hissed. Her father looked slightly confused, and then sent a knowing look at the woman.

"Princess, things have changed." He started to say, but was cut off.

"What could have changed in 6 months? She's supposed to be in prison, not hanging off your arm!"

"Honey, she's changed. She cleaned up and got back on her meds. Please, don't cause a scene."

"Cause a scene? You don't want me to cause a scene? I HATE YOU! HOW COULD YOU TAKE HER BACK AFTER SHE KILLED YOUR SON? MY BROTHER? HOW COULD YOU?" Everyone there, most notably her friends with the exception of Jess, just stared at her in shock. This was not the quiet, shy transfer girl that they had all come to know. This girl standing in front of them was one full of rage and hatred, the kind that you either stayed faaaarrrrrr away from or tried to make yours. Right now they were leaning heavily towards staying away from. Those that hadn't gotten to know her personally at least.

The woman decided for some reason that this would be a good time to speak up.

"Listen, why don't we all go home and have a nice dinner and we can talk things out…"

"Talk? _Now_ you want to talk? Back off BITCH before I show you exactly what I've been learning at school." The woman dropped the meek attitude and smiled ferally.

"You're not of age yet, you can't use your…_talents_…here."

"Try me." Sarah said in a deadpanned voice, the look in her eyes matching her tone. Her father and the woman took an involuntary step backwards as Sarah's eyes seemed to glow with hatred and power.

"Sarah, please, let's just go home and talk this out." Her father pleaded, his voice sounding small and insignificant.

"You can go home all you want, I'm not going anywhere with _her_. I know that after mom died your only requirement for a wife was that she look good on your arm, but really _dad_, you could have done _soooooo_ much better than _her_." With this Sarah pushed her cart past them and out of the train station, complete silence following her. She made it all the way to the bus stop before collapsing on the curb, her head in her hands. After all that she just didn't have the energy to even make it to the benches.

It wasn't all that long before a pair of strong arms and a familiar scent enveloped her, and she leaned into the embrace gratefully.

"It's okay, let it all out. The Potters placed a privacy shield around us, no one will see." Sirius murmured softly in her ear, finally breaking the damn that she had carefully constructed.

It was almost ten minutes before her tears had dwindled down to sniffles, and she looked up at Sirius from her place on his chest.

"Thank you." She whispered. He kissed the top of her head and looked down at her lovingly.

"Anytime. Feeling up to facing the world? You left a lot of worried people out there." He said, being careful not to mention the reason that she had been crying but giving her an opening if she wanted to talk. She decided to wait for another time and stood up, exiting the privacy barrier still firmly enclosed in Sirius's arms. Jess ran over as soon as they were visible and gave Sarah a sisterly hug, then pulled back and punched her in the arm.

"Owwww, what was that for? I'm supposed to be getting sympathy right now, not hits." Sarah said, trying to go for her usual cheerful attitude but having it come out watery instead.

"For finally, truly, letting it all out. I knew that cry you had after my first letter wouldn't be enough."

"So you're not only a smart ass, you're a pain in the ass. Why do I hang out with you again?"

"Because I'm a smart ass and a pain in the ass, you know that." They hugged each other tightly as everyone laughed.

"Sweet Merlin what was I thinking?" Sarah said when they had parted. "We don't have anywhere to stay for the holidays, what the hell are we going to do?"

"You'll stay at my place." James said, startling Sarah and Jess. He cut them off before they could protest. "My parents already okayed it, we have more than enough guest rooms and you were going to be coming for our Christmas party any way. Besides, my parents have a habit of picking up strays." He said and nodded to Sirius, who began to nod in agreement.

"Hey!"

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	4. Chapter 4

Sarah sank down onto the Queen sized bed in one of the guest rooms in the Potter Mansion and buried her face in the pillow, letting the tension seep out of her body with each breath until she was limp. The door opened and shut quietly, but she didn't need to look up to recognize Jess's light footfalls on the carpet. She did, however, send her friend a dirty look when Jess lightly jumped on the bed, causing her to bounce up and down.

"Just tell me that you had no idea that _she_ was going to be there." Sarah said, having no need to explain who _she_ was.

"I had no idea that she was going to be there." Jess stated loudly and firmly, mimicking Sarah's words. Sarah sent her a withering look, which Jess responded to by poking her in the arm. "I mean it. As far as I knew, she was still awaiting trial."

"That's what I thought to. She'd had the preliminary hearing as soon as she'd gotten back on her meds and was deemed competent to stand trial, but the actual trial wasn't supposed to start until after New Years. The District Attorney _promised_ me that he would make sure she was put away for a long time. There's no way that she should be out of jail, let alone in another country."

"Not to mention back in your fathers bed." Sarah cringed at the image.

"That is _not_ something that I wanted to think about even when I _was_ on good terms with her, which I never have been."

"But that is at the heart of everything isn't it? You told me so when we first met."

"What I _told_ you when we first met her was that Brian and I were afraid that she was going to take our dad further away from us."

"And she used the bedroom to do just that." Sarah whacked her with a pillow.

"Would you stop bringing up those images? It's thoroughly disgusting." Jess retaliated with a whack of her own.

"So what images would you like? Peter and that Hufflepuff girl Alicia?" Jess received a decent sized whack. "Me and Remus?" A very forceful whack to the head was the response to that. "You and Sirius?" Sarah would have whacked her exceptionally hard for that one if she hadn't been blushing so hard. "I know who Sarah li-ikes. I know who Sarah li-ikes." Jess said in a sing-song voice, which Sarah began to repeatedly whack her for, starting a massive pillow fight between the two of them. They eventually collapsed on the bed, exhausted.

"So this is what girls do when they're alone." A drawling voice with a hint of amusement said from the doorway. The two girls looked up to see James and Sirius standing in the doorway, Sirius having been the one who spoke. Jess smiled brightly while Sarah blushed and hoped that it wasn't noticeable since her cheeks were already flushed from the fight.

"Well, actually we lean more towards gossiping and make-up then all of this sweaty activity. It's really gross." Jess said in a high falsetto voice. Sarah pushed her off the bed as she laughed.

"Merlin help us if we _ever_ actually do that. Preferably by killing us." She said, causing the boys to laugh.

"Mom said that dinner's ready." James said. "And Mum wanted to know if you knew your…er…step-mothers maiden name. She said that she looked familiar." Sarah seethed quietly but thought about it as they headed to the dining room.

"Cristoff, I think." James and Sirius stopped and stared at her in astonishment, and her anger was replaced by confusion.

"Elaine Cristoff? Squib daughter of Julian Cristoff?" James asked incredulously.

"I don't know about the Squib part, but that is her name." Sirius let out a low whistle.

"That is one doosey of a step-mother that you have there. No wonder she went berserk and then got out of jail so fast." He said.

"Once again please, this time in English." Jess said, earning chuckles from the boys.

"The Cristoff's are one of the older Pureblood Wizarding families, almost as old as the Blacks, Malfoys, and my family." James began as they entered the dining room and sat around the table. "They've also produced more Squibs with psychotic tendencies in recent generations than any other family."

"I did say that my dad had bad taste." Sarah mumbled.

"What probably happened after she got arrested is that she contacted _daddy dearest_ who likely greased a few palms and used a few charms to get his daughter out of jail. She's probably got your father under a love potion or something, which is why he took her back." Sarah began to swear in several different languages, James's parents refraining from saying anything only because they knew how mad she must be. She finally stopped her tirade and looked at Jess, who smiled brightly.

"6 new swear words since the last time you swore that much. You've been studying." She said, then she and Sarah broke out into giggles at the dumbfounded expressions on Sirius, James, and James's parents faces. "What, you haven't heard her go into a tirade at school?"

"Um, no?" James said a little uncertainly.

"No one's learned which of my buttons to push to get that reaction yet." Sarah explained to her friend. Sirius turned to Jessica.

"So which buttons need to be pushed?" He asked impishly, earning a punch in the arm from Sarah.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Jess said as she laughed at Sirius, then turned to Sarah. "But you _do_ know what this means don't you?" She asked, her eyes shining with the same mischievous glint that the boys had seen in Sarah's eyes. Sarah nodded gleefully.

"Oh yeah. _Operation Rescue Dad_ and _Operation Revenge on the Step-mother_."

"Where did you come up with 'operation'? That almost sounds like you're Aurors." Sirius said, staring at them incredulously. Jess and Sarah looked at each other and began laughing.

"Actually, it has more to do with Muggle TV shows than wanting to be Aurors." Sarah said, which just confused everyone else there.

"What are 'TV shows'?" James asked. Sarah and Jess looked at him blankly until they remembered that he had not grown up watching TV.

"Oh you poor deprived child. I forgot that Wizards don't have TV. Sarah, we'll have to remedy that."

"But of course." The rest of dinner was taken up with discussions and planning for how they were going to 'liberate' Sarah's father and get their revenge on her step-mother.

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Operation: Save Sarah's Dad

Part 1: Getting in undetected.

James slipped through the basement door of Sarah's house with barely a whisper of his invisibility cloak to mark his passage. But he was the only one whose approach was silent.

Shuffle shuffle tip toe tip toe tip toe

"Ow! Watch your big feet!" An annoyed voice whispered angrily.

"You watch where you're going!" Owner of said big feet shot back, followed by muffled giggles as they descended the stairs to the basement, the most logical place to brew a potion.

Shuffle shuffle slide slide kick turn

"_What_ are you doing?" James hissed.

"Um, dancing to the sounds we're making?" Jess said hesitantly.

"We're not supposed to be making any sounds at all!"

"_Sor-ry_." It was with supreme effort that Sarah and Sirius were able to contain their laughter.

Part 2: Determine exactly what method is being used to control him.

"Found it." Remus said, his voice seeming disembodied as he stood by the bubbling cauldron from under the disillusionment spell that James dad had placed him under before they had left. "Just follow the nasty smell."

"As if _that_ wasn't obvious." Sirius muttered, earning an elbow in his side from Sarah.

"All right, and the verdict from our two resident noses is…" Sarah said, referring to Jess and Remus, the former of whom shot her a dirty look. They both leaned over the cauldron and gave a sniff.

"As we thought. A love potion that any first year student could make." Jess said.

Part 3: Destroying it.

"So do we have the ingredients?" Sirius asked. Sarah produced the bag that held neutralizing ingredients for several different love potions, ranging from the simplest to the more extreme. Both Sirius and James made a grab for it, but Sarah tossed it to Jess, who hid with it behind Remus's shimmer.

"What are you doing?" James hissed.

"I want to free my dad, not poison him. Remus and Jess are the best at potions out of all of us." Sarah responded. Both James and Sirius grumbled, but said nothing more. Remus and Jess rifled through the bag and pulled out three ingredients, dropping them in the cauldron in quick succession. There was a snap crackle and pop! as each ingredient hit the potion, and it fizzled then turned back to normal. The five teenagers looked at it expectantly.

"Did it work?" Sirius asked.

"Yep." Remus said. "And the She-bitch won't know anything's different until she gives it to Sarah's dad."

"Oooohhhhh, Remus said a bad word." Sirius teased, earning a whack upside the head from Sarah.

Part 4: Getting out.

Pitter patter pitter patter tip toe tip toe

"_No_ dancing this time."

"_Fine_."

"Would you two be quiet? If I didn't know better I'd say that _you two_ were the ones dating." Quiet mock gagging noises could be heard from both teenagers.

"Can we just get going? James's dad said to be back before dawn."

"We're going, we're going."

"Isn't it supposed to be 'we're coming, we're coming'?" Sirius asked suggestively, which earned him a whack from everyone else.

"There! See, we're out and we didn't get caught." Jess said triumphantly. James produced the port key that his father had given him and Sarah took one last look at her father's house before they were whisked away.

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The headlines in both the Muggle and Magical newspapers during the following days gave rise to much amusement among the teenagers. The Muggle papers reported that the American Ambassador had thrown out his wife and filed divorce papers and a restraining order against her, and each theory as to why he had done this was crazier than the next. The Magical papers slandered the Cristoff family something awful, and Elaine was eventually disowned and sent back to America, where she was placed in a high security mental institution after loudly proclaiming that 'dark wizards were going to eat all the unholy muggles'.

Sarah and her father got back together a few days later and had a long overdue father/daughter talk, and both she and Jess returned to Sarah's house for the holidays, returning to the Potter residence for both the Christmas and New Years party.

Two days before the students were to return to Hogwarts Sarah and her father took Jess back home, and on the way back took a detour to visit Brian's grave and say their goodbyes.

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Finished for now, but only because my mind's a blank on what to write next. I'll probably revisit it sometime in the future, but for now it will be considered complete. Ideas on what to do with Lucius are welcome, or if anyone wants to take a crack at it themselves just e-mail me. I hope that you enjoyed, and please review!


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